Witches In The Middle Ages
“We shall be rich’eth! Death to the peculiar ones!…. I mean witches!”
In 1480, a greed-spawned genocide began in Europe. It spread across England, Scotland, Switzerland, Germany, Poland, and parts of France. Over 100,000 people were tried, tortured, and executed; because they were ²witches². Although many of these victims were probably not witches, in that era they didn‘t know better. People had very strong personal beliefs, religious views, and their so called ²scientific² reasons for believing someone to be a witch. With this in mind, it can be understood how people were so consumed by greed that they would dismiss the value of human life so quickly and easily. Basically, the rich and powerful liked being rich and powerful. So, if …show more content…
Well, “back in the day” they didn’t have science to explain of everything worked, so they relied on religion. In this case, religion backed them up. In 1522, in one of his sermons, Martin Luther said that “… witches are the Devil’s whores…”. So, if someone dare call out the accusers for the greed stricken people they were, it would seem that they were siding with the witches and thus, the Devil. Also, the teachings of their god, who they would do just about anything for, were used to manipulate the simpletons. “We are therefore taught by these examples that we have to wage war against an infinite number of enemies…” From the “Institutes of Christian Religion”, by John Calvin in 1536, people were taught that it was their duty from God to be against witches. And while it does not directly call witches out, it does imply that anyone could be the enemy (a witch). So, the “godly” people killed the witches “in the name of God”, and didn’t question the accusers because they were on a mission from God. That, and anyone could be a witch, so how were they supposed to know who was what. When you boil it all down it comes to this; people had very strong religious views to persecute
In 1480, a greed-spawned genocide began in Europe. It spread across England, Scotland, Switzerland, Germany, Poland, and parts of France. Over 100,000 people were tried, tortured, and executed; because they were ²witches². Although many of these victims were probably not witches, in that era they didn‘t know better. People had very strong personal beliefs, religious views, and their so called ²scientific² reasons for believing someone to be a witch. With this in mind, it can be understood how people were so consumed by greed that they would dismiss the value of human life so quickly and easily. Basically, the rich and powerful liked being rich and powerful. So, if …show more content…
Well, “back in the day” they didn’t have science to explain of everything worked, so they relied on religion. In this case, religion backed them up. In 1522, in one of his sermons, Martin Luther said that “… witches are the Devil’s whores…”. So, if someone dare call out the accusers for the greed stricken people they were, it would seem that they were siding with the witches and thus, the Devil. Also, the teachings of their god, who they would do just about anything for, were used to manipulate the simpletons. “We are therefore taught by these examples that we have to wage war against an infinite number of enemies…” From the “Institutes of Christian Religion”, by John Calvin in 1536, people were taught that it was their duty from God to be against witches. And while it does not directly call witches out, it does imply that anyone could be the enemy (a witch). So, the “godly” people killed the witches “in the name of God”, and didn’t question the accusers because they were on a mission from God. That, and anyone could be a witch, so how were they supposed to know who was what. When you boil it all down it comes to this; people had very strong religious views to persecute